French Fridays with Dorie: Salty-Sweet Potato Far

I really, really wanted to like this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (Salty-sweet Potato Far, p 359). I mean, a baked custard dish with potatoes, bacon and prunes (supposed to be raisins too but I didn’t have any so used extra prunes) – sounds pretty good, huh? A bonus being that it didn’t take too long to prepare or cook – I had visions of this being a take on a crustless quiche that I would be making through the winter – I generally have all the ingredients on hand and paired with some green vegetables or a green salad, it would make a quick and easy, yet filling, meal for a chilly night. I mean, I’ve had a sweet far before, and really enjoyed it so I figured it would be good in savoury form too. I like savoury custards – these savoury cheesecakes, for example, or this savoury clafoutis.

Since Neil was away last weekend, I (of course) minified the recipe and made two small far.

I don’t know if I messed up my proportions by making them tiny but mine definitely did not seem “custardy” enough. It was *ok*. A little stodgy and needing *something*. Like cheese. Like some crunch. I definitely felt it wasn’t salty enough. I might be tempted to try this again but use more bacon, less potatoes, use a higher custard to filling ratio and sprinkle some cheese on top for a little crunch and salt.

I did love the combination of prunes and bacon though. Now in some kind of potato rösti, THAT would be awesome….

In any case, am I glad I tried? Of course. And hey, in around 150 weeks of Dorie recipes, this is one of the very few that hasn’t been a hit. I think that’s a pretty good track record!

Um, no, it’s not “delicious” – as you can see, I’d need to make quite a few tweaks to make it work for me again. It wasn’t bad, just odd. Kind of tasty in parts (the bacon) but definitely not something I’d label “delicious” as it was supposed to me made. Ah well, you can’t win them all.

I think the biggest difference in the cauliflower version I made (vs the potato one I made) is how moist and souffle like it was. Even my 17 year old made this same comment. It is also heartily possible that a few weeks of carb reduction made me so happy to have anything remotely resembling a sweet scone that I was more happy to see it than usual Seriously though, I did not know what to expect and this might have helped as well. Always fun to try something new.

I agree completely with your sentiments. I really wanted to like this one-it seemed like a great idea-but something was just off. With different proportions and extra salt and/or cheese, I do think this has potential. I’d love to know if you end up making a version that you enjoy.